


Shiro's Birthday

by NerdyNostalgia



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Birthday, Curtis is mentioned once, Dancing, Drinking, Getting Together, Kissing, M/M, Mutual Pining, Surprise Party, s8? what s8?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-28
Updated: 2020-02-28
Packaged: 2021-02-27 20:07:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,471
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22941484
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NerdyNostalgia/pseuds/NerdyNostalgia
Summary: The Paladins plan a surprise party for Shiro. It turns out to be a very pleasant night.
Relationships: Keith/Shiro (Voltron)
Kudos: 23





	Shiro's Birthday

The Paladins stepped back and surveyed their work. Hunk stepped back from the food table and nodded, pleased with his work. Lance, Pidge and Allura were finally happy with the decorations. Keith stood to the side and surveyed the room. It looked good, far better than he thought when he learned that Lance was in charge of decoration.

“So what do you think, Mullet? Think Shiro will like it?” Lance asked as he turned towards his leader.

“Sure.” He said, shrugging.

Lance sighed exacerbated by Keith’s lack of response, “Alright, why don’t you go get the birthday boy? We’ll round up the others and get ready.”

Keith stepped away from the wall and nodded. He left the room and headed towards Shiro's office. He knew that Shiro would be working on his birthday. Shiro was nothing if not a workaholic. A smile came to his lips as he thought of his best friend. He knew that Shiro would like the fact his friends got together to celebrate his birthday more than the party itself but he was glad that so many others saw how special Shiro was.

He entered Shiro’s office and was unsurprised to find Shiro reading reports. He knew Shiro hadn’t heard him enter as he hadn’t turned around. He stood closely behind the older man and cleared his throat loudly. A small part of him was thrilled that he made the infallible Captain of the ATLAS jump. Shiro spun around and smiled when he saw Keith behind him. Keith smirked in response and almost laughed at the glare Shiro gave him.

“Keith, to what do I owe the pleasure?” Shiro asked as he put down his data pad.

“There’s an issue in one of the rec rooms. I think ATLAS has been messing with things again.” Keith said.

Shiro sighed, “I wish she wouldn’t mess with things like that. I would like to know if the ship wanted to change something.”

The ATLAS gave an annoyed huff, as much as a giant robot ship could, at being blamed for something she hadn’t done but she was inquired to see what her Captain’s reaction would be to what she had seen his friends organising. Shiro stood up and started following Keith. They chatted as they walked the halls and Keith couldn’t help but be relieved that Shiro hadn’t noticed that the halls were empty of his crew. Eventually they reached the room.

“Why don’t you go in first seeing as you’ll be able to handle whatever has happened?” Keith suggested as he fell in step behind Shiro.

Shiro nodded, preparing himself for whatever mischief the ATLAS had decided to partake in this time. The door opened and he noticed the darkness in the room. He stepped inside and the light suddenly came on.

“SURPRISE!!!”

His eyes took a moment to adjust and he saw all his crew and the Paladins in front of him. He turned back to Keith who was leaning against the door frame. The shared a smile before Shiro turned back to everyone in front of him.

“Thank you everyone.”

Matt stepped up to him and presented him with a party hat and a glass of something alcoholic, “We couldn’t forget the birthday of our favourite Captain, especially when you consider it only comes around every four years.”

Shiro rolled his eyes and took the glass from Matt, choosing to ignore the ridiculous party hat. He was then led to the crowd in front of him and the party began.

Keith remained by the door for a few minutes and watched as everyone tried to wish Shiro a happy birthday. He made his way over to the Paladins and got himself food and drink intent on joining the party.

* * *

The party seemed to be going well. It had been a while since everyone had gotten the chance to relax but Keith felt more tense than ever. He was an introvert by nature and being around so many people for so long was draining. It also didn’t help that he hadn’t seen Shiro for long throughout the party. He knew that his best friend would be required to greet and talk to almost everyone at the party but he hadn’t realised it meant that others would hog his friend the entire night.

He stepped out and headed to the balcony the ATLAS had added to the room. He had no idea why she had done so or when but right now he was grateful. Feeling the cool night breeze on his face made him feel better. He had been around too many people for too long and needed a break. He took a sip of his drink and looked out at the view. Being so high up on the ATLAS you could see for miles. The desert largely looked the same whatever way he looked but it was soothing. It looked just as he remembered from before he and the others had left on the Blue Lion. This was home.

His mind turned to the scene he had left. He knew as the star of the party Shiro had to interact with everyone but he couldn’t help but be jealous of those who had gotten to dance with him. When he left he had been dancing with one of his bridge crew. Conrad? Charlie? Curtis? Whatever the guy's name was, everyone but Shiro knew the guy had a massive crush on him. Keith couldn’t blame him. Shiro was pretty great and anyone would be lucky to have his attention. However he hadn’t realised just how awful it would make him feel. He had known of his own feelings for Shiro for a long time. He had come to accept them after his mother had confronted him while on the space whale. He sighed, he knew he wasn’t entitled to Shiro’s time or attention but that didn’t mean he didn’t hurt to watch him spend time with others, especially when he knew that the other person had feelings for Shiro.

It was something he had never thought about. He’d never thought about what he’d do if Shiro got with someone that wasn’t him, but then he wasn’t sure what he’d do if Shiro wanted to be with him. Whatever happened, he knew he would do whatever he could to make sure Shiro was happy, even if it meant that his heart was broken in the process. 

“There you are. I was wondering where you had gone.”

Keith turned towards the voice and was surprised to see Shiro, “Shouldn’t you be with the party?”

“Shouldn’t I ask you the same thing?” Shiro asked with a smile.

Keith shrugged, “I needed some fresh air.”

“Understandable. It was a bit stuffy in there.”

“Yeah.”

Shiro stepped closer and the two stood in silence. He was glad for a break as well. As much as he appreciated the surprise party, it was tiring to interact with so many different people in such a short space of time. He was glad it was just him and Keith out on this balcony. It was nice to just be in each other’s presence without the pressure to fill the silence.

Shiro looked at Keith out of the corner of his eye and his breath caught. Keith looked beautiful in the moonlight. He blushed and focused on the horizon. It wasn’t the first time he’d caught himself admiring Keith. It had been happening a lot since they had returned to Earth and he didn’t know what to do. Should he tell Keith? Should he do something?

He knew that they still needed to talk about what happened at the clone facility. He was terrified that he had irreparably damaged his relationship with Keith, especially as they hadn’t spent much time together since their return to Earth.

A slow song came on in the room behind them. Shiro turned to Keith and held his hand out. Keith looked at him confused.

“Dance with me? We didn’t have the chance to when we were in there.” Shiro said, hoping he wasn’t stepping over some unspoken boundary between the two of them.

Keith stared at him for a few seconds before putting his drink down. He took Shiro’s hand and Shiro pulled him towards him. Both of them blushed as the space between them disappeared.

They got into position with Shiro’s arm around Keith’s waist and holding his hand while Keith’s free arm was wrapped around Shiro’s shoulder. Keith looked down as his blush intensified.

“I don’t know how to dance.” He admitted shyly.

Shiro smiled and tightened his grip, “Then I’ll lead, although I’m not the best dancer.”

The two swayed on the spot as the song played out. Shiro at some point had begun to spin them as they swayed. Slowly the two began to relax and Keith rested his head on Shiro’s shoulder as they swayed. It wasn’t an intricate dance so Keith felt alright about losing himself in his thoughts. He wanted to savour everything about this. Who knew when or if he would ever get this opportunity again. He wanted to remember what it was like to be in Shiro’s arms. If he never got the opportunity again then he would always have this. Unbeknownst to Keith, Shiro was having similar thoughts. He wanted to remember what it felt like to have Keith in his arms, to know what it was like to have Keith tucked under his chin as he held him close.

In his musings Shiro pulled in their joined hands and held them on his chest. They continued to sway to the music as they lost themselves in the moment. Keith looked up at Shiro and moved his head away from Shiro’s shoulder. Shiro looked down at the movement and the two stared at each other. They didn’t know who moved first but they started to lean in towards the other.

The moment was broken by a microphone screeching (where had that come from?) and a clearly drunken Lance loudly proclaim it was time for karaoke which was followed by a loud cheer. The two jumped apart and blushed. They looked at each other and blushed more. Neither could believe that what they were about to do.

They stood in an awkward silence. The noise from the party sounded like white noise as they tried to comprehend what might have happened. Shiro shifted as his fear overcame his shock.

“Keith.”

“Shiro.”

“Look, we don’t…”

“Did you mean it?”

Shiro looked up shocked, Keith was looking down and away so his eyes weren’t visible underneath his hair, “What?”

“Did you mean to try and kiss me? Were you trying to kiss me?”

Shiro opened and closed his mouth a few times as he tried to figure out what the best response would be. He decided on the truth, “Yes. I meant to do that. Look, Keith…”

He stopped when Keith looked up at him. He was surprised to see the swirl of emotion in Keith’s eyes. He had always known that Keith was a passionate person who often hid his emotions behind an icy wall to protect himself. Seeing so many emotions directed at him, knowing that Keith was being so open with him was humbling. It dawned on him that whatever happened in the next few moments was going to crucial for the future of his relationship with Keith. He needed to make his next move carefully.

He lifted his hand and cupped Keith’s cheek. He stroked his thumb over his cheek, feeling the scar as he did so. He still felt guilty about hurting Keith.

“There’s a lot we need to talk about. I hate that I hurt you but I don’t want to lose you.”

“Shiro, if getting a scar meant getting you back then I would do it a thousand times over.”

Shiro sucked in a breath. It always floored him how much he meant to Keith, how much Keith cared. It was overwhelming at times and he wasn’t sure what he had ever done to deserve any of it.

“Keith.” He breathed out his name but didn’t know what else to say. So he did the only thing he could think of, he kissed him. He felt Keith stiffen for a moment before melting into the kiss. They did nothing more than simply press their lips together but it was enough. Shiro applied a bit more pressure and felt Keith wrap his arms around his waist. His free arm mirrored the move and pulled Keith closer.

They pulled away and smiled. Keith looked up at him shyly and Shiro felt himself fall even more for the young man.

Shiro hummed, “A boyfriend for my birthday. I can’t think of a better present.”

Keith looked surprised for a moment, “A boyfriend, huh?”

“Yeah, a boyfriend.”

“Boyfriend, yeah.”

Keith smiled and leaned up. He mimicked Shiro’s earlier actions and pressed their lips together. Shiro leaned into the kiss and smiled as Keith pulled away.

“I know there’s a lot we need to talk about, but right now I would like to enjoy the rest of my birthday with my boyfriend.”

Shiro put up his hand as an offering. Keith took it and the two went back into the party holding hands. It didn’t take long for people to realise he was back.

“Shiro, come blow out the candles on your birthday cake!” Lance yelled from the other side of the room.

Shiro couldn’t help but laugh at Lance’s antics and headed over to him and the other Paladins, who all stood around a table with a birthday cake that was far too large. It seemed Hunk had really gone all out for this.

“Hey guys! Shiro’s going to blow out his candles!” Lance yelled over the music.

The music stopped and the crowd began to sing ‘happy birthday’, once finished Shiro blew out the candles and the crowd cheered. Shiro only had eyes for Keith who was clapping along with everyone else. Shiro hadn’t wished for anything this year. He hadn’t needed to. He had just gotten everything he wanted for his birthday – he was now with the man he loved. He couldn’t keep the smile from his face as he stepped closer to the man in question. He wrapped his arm around his waist and kissed him, the emotion of the night getting the better of him.

The crowd around them cheered. It was one way to announce your relationship to the world. He pulled away and smiled. He knew that tomorrow he would more than likely regret doing something so forward but right now he was happy about being able to have Keith in his arms.

It really had turned out to be a great birthday, in fact it was one of the best he’d ever had.


End file.
